Announcing the Launch of the Tennessee Materials Marketplace

New circular economy program connects businesses, organizations and entrepreneurs to uncover and implement new creative solutions for hard-to-recycle wastes and by-products

Franklin, Tennessee - August 14, 2017: The US Business Council for Sustainable Development and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation today announced the launch of a new online platform that allows for circular reuse of products and materials that might otherwise be destined for disposal in landfills. Through the cloud-based Tennessee Materials Marketplace, traditional and non-traditional waste streams are matched with new product and revenue opportunities, ultimately enabling the culture shift to a circular, closed-loop economy.

Tennessee is the second state in the US to adopt a circular economy program of this scope and scale; and joins an international network of Materials Marketplace projects already underway across the globe, including the Ohio and Austin Materials Marketplaces, US Materials Marketplace, and the Turkey Materials Marketplace.

In addition to facilitating reuse matches, the program also allows for collaborations to be made between Tennessee’s larger manufacturers working towards zero-landfill and highest and best use of materials like General Motors and American Snuff, and agile and innovative small and medium-sized businesses.

Over the past 20 years, Materials Marketplace projects spearheaded by the US BCSD and scale-up partner Pathway21 have engaged hundreds of companies - large and small - academic institutions, nonprofits and entrepreneurs around the world. Andrew Mangan, Founder and Executive Director of the US BCSD, says “Many businesses and organizations in Tennessee are challenging the traditional take-make-dispose model; the Materials Marketplace is an important enabler to move this new circular thinking into action.”

Additional Background/How to Get Involved:

Participation is free for any company or organization with operations in or near the state that wants to explore new opportunities to transform by-product/waste materials into new products, or secure recycled material streams to reduce use of virgin feedstocks.

The US BCSD manages the Tennessee Materials Marketplace, with initial funding support from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation.